National Basketball Association
Xavier 83, Cincinnati 63
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, December 11, 2021
Where: Cintas Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Officials:
# Brian O'Connell, # John Gaffney, # Jamie Luckie
Attendance:
10707
By Field Level Media
Jack Nunge established career highs of 31 points and 15 rebounds to lead host Xavier to an 83-63 trouncing of Cincinnati on Saturday night in the Crosstown Shootout.
Paul Scruggs added 14 points and Adam Kunkel scored 12 as the Musketeers (9-1) defeated the Bearcats (7-3) for the seventh time in the past nine meetings. Xavier's win was its ninth straight on its homecourt in the series.
John Newman III scored 14 points and David DeJulius had 12 points for Cincinnati, which trailed by as many as 27 points after making the approximate 2 1/2-mile trip to Xavier. Jeremiah Davenport added 11 points for the Bearcats.
Nunge, a transfer from Iowa, made 9 of 14 field-goal attempts -- including 2 of 4 from 3-point range -- and 11 of 15 from the free-throw line.
The Musketeers connected on 46.3 percent of their shots, including 5 of 16 from 3-point range. Xavier owned a 41-28 rebounding edge while winning its fifth consecutive contest.
Cincinnati shot 37.3 percent from the field and was 7 of 22 from behind the arc. The Bearcats have lost three of their past five games.
Xavier took a 50-31 lead on a four-point play by Nunge with 15:15 remaining in the game.
The Bearcats were down 17 after a layup by Newman with 11:42 left before the Musketeers delivered the knockout punch with a 15-5 spurt.
Kunkel scored four straight points to make it 61-38 with 10:17 remaining. Just over 2 1/2 minutes later, Dwon Odom hit two free throws to push the margin to a game-high 27 at 70-43.
Nunge later reached the 30-point mark for the first time in his career by slamming home a dunk with 1:50 left for his final basket of the game.
Nunge had 14 points and nine rebounds as Xavier led 42-27 at the break.
The Bearcats led 11-10 early before the Musketeers went on a 12-2 burst to take the lead for good.
Cincinnati later moved within eight before Nunge scored the first five points of a 7-0 run to give Xavier a 35-20 advantage with 4:24 left in the half.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Cincinnati |
|
Xavier |
|
John Newman III 14 |
Scoring |
Jack Nunge 31 |
|
Mike Saunders Jr. 5 |
Assists |
Paul Scruggs 5 |
|
Viktor Lakhin 6 |
Rebounds |
Jack Nunge 15 |
|
John Newman III 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Jack Nunge 11 |
|
John Newman III 2 |
Steals |
Colby Jones 2 |
|
N/A |
Blocks |
Zach Freemantle 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Cincinnati
|
63 |
37.3 |
7-22 |
12-17 |
12 |
25 |
0 |
4 |
11 |
| Xavier
|
83 |
46.3 |
5-16 |
28-35 |
16 |
39 |
2 |
6 |
9 |
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